A Chained Heart
by Norman Steel
Summary: After the royal wedding at Canterlot, Luna can't help but feel a bit jealous about the couple and the gift they share. Fearing that this could mean the return of Nightmare Moon she quickly asks Celestia for advice. She didn't like it one bit and deciding she needed a second opinion, she visits a most unusual Doctor living in Ponyville. This is her story of what couldn't be.
1. A Canterlot Wedding Aftermath

This is my story, a story I hope no one else lives through

When you live as long as I have and you live through all the things I have, you sometimes wish for a life like all the others. One that has, an end.

Canterlot had just gone through an unforgettable experience, a royal wedding had been about to be sabotaged by the queen of a race that fed on love, these creature were referred to as the changelings. Though Princess Celestia foresaw the danger and managed to warn Shining Armor, the captain of the royal guard, in time to raise up the barrier for protection, unknown to everypony however, one and perhaps the most dangerous of the changelings made it through. Queen Chrysalis.

Posing as the bride, she intended to absorb Shining Armor's love for her and use its power to conquer Canterlot and feed her subjects. Unfortunately for her, Twilight Sparkle figured out her plan and by going to great lengths she managed to rescue the real bride from the crystal caverns and arrived just in time to save her brother from making the biggest mistake in his life.

Chrysalis had attained all the power she needed from Shining Armor, and even though the wedding was interrupted, the magic she absorbed was enough to defeat Princess Celestia and destroy the barrier. Unleashing the swarm of changelings on Canterlot, the elements of harmony; Canterlot's most elite warriors that had saved the land twice using the powers of friendship, were unable to overcome the swarming numbers.

All seemed lost, but then the bride; using her powers over love, restored Shining Armor's magic and together they created a blast that blew the creatures away from Equestria, into a land beyond the Everfree Forest. Ponies partied all night in celebration of the salvation of Canterlot, and the royal wedding.

Among those celebrating I walked, I was having a good time and it was nice having a party every once in a while. This one in particular had been planned by Pinkie Pie, the element of laughter and this party really showed it. Not as many formalities as other "parties" I attend to, yet as much fun as I was having I couldn't take my eyes of the newlywed couple.

They looked very happy together to say the least and I felt happy for them too, but I was getting a familiar feeling inside of me I didn't wish to feel again. It reminded me of all the terrible things I did while I was Nightmare Moon; I tried looking away from them, hoping this feeling would go away just like it normally would. But it remained and it was getting stronger with every passing second.

Jelousy.

I tried doing some of the exercises Twilight Sparkle and her friends taught me to control jealousy, but I just couldn't hold it. I felt the feeling consuming my mind and I feared that I would succumb into Nightmare Moon again, I began running through the ponies, searching for my sister.

I needed her; I didn't want to be evil again. I was happy here, I'm a princess and we're a family again. I shouldn't be jealous… I need her now before I do something I regret. I finally spied her dancing in the conga line with the elements of harmony; I ran quickly to her and told her that I needed to speak with her alone. I think she saw the urgency in my eyes since she broke the line and quickly flew away; I followed her as I ignored the voices of the elements, asking me if everything was alright.

I flew quickly behind her, at first I thought we were heading towards the palace but it soon became apparent that my sister had other plans, we were flying away of the city instead of towards it. I decided to go along with it as I was scared that any second now I would become Nightmare Moon again and that I would attack her. That's... something I never want to do again... ponies should never attack those who they care about or any other pony for that matter.

Anyway, I soon began recognizing where we were flying. One thousand years later and it was still the same as I remembered it, a small cave several miles away from Canterlot in which my sister and I would spend countless hours playing. It became a symbol of our union and our friendship. I felt very touched to say the least and I couldn't hold a tear as we landed there; many dear memories coming back to my mind as Celestia led the way into the cave. As we entered Celestia summoned an orb of light that illumanated the cave.

Unsurprisingly it was full of dust, many of our old toys were either broken or rusted. One of the few things that survived were the drawings, we always did those when we were in here and they were still on the wall. Some of them were quite funny drawings of ourselves in grassy fields, others were of us fighting Discord and others were of other ponies we knew.

"Sister, tell me what's wrong." said Celestia as I was looking at some of our works of art; however this was no time to think about them.

"Tia... I think I'm feeling jealous again." I said to her with shame, refusing to make eye contact with her. When I finally acquired to courage to look at her I saw that there was not a trace of anger or fear as I expected, instead there was small smile in her face.

"Can you tell me about it?" asked Celestia, of course I let it all out. I told her that I felt jealous when I saw Shining Armor and Mi Amore together but I didn't know why. As I told her about this, her smile began to slowly dissapear and as soon as I was done she was standing there with an expression I couldn't read. I couldn't tell if she hated me or if she was about to banish me to the moon in order to prevent another Nightmare Moon incident.

"I see, do you feel like this when you see them together or do you feel it with anypony in particular?" asked Celestia as she sat down in one of the moth eaten carpets. I pondered on her question for an instant even though I knew the answer already.

"Only when they're together sis." I said, this time I did manage to hide my shame and looked at my sister in the eyes. Sometimes it's hard, even for me to guess what goes on her head most of the time. Still, it's my sister I'm talking about and I have absolute and complete trust in her judgement.

"One last question, what else do you feel along the jealousy?" asked Celestia; I was getting impatient ot say the least and I wanted to know what her final veredict would be. Yet I knew I had to go along with this if I wanted the real answer that will finally either calm my fears or make them real.

"I feel... sad." I said as I felt some tears threatening to come out, at that moment a past memory came to my mind and nearly made me break down in front of my sister. I now knew why I felt that way... I thought I had it over control by now but it seems I don't have it. Still, I wanted to hear the answer from my sister, before I could look at her I felt a wing wrap over my body. In a comforting manner, while she did that I kept whispering to myself not to cry, but if I've learned anything from my exile is that stopping emotions isn't a smart thing to do.

And it never works.

How foolish I was, still thinking I could stop the tears forever. They came out in waterfalls, it no longer was a simple sniffing and weeping. I was crying and wailing, like an injured animal or a cub that's unable to find his parents, I let everything out on Celestia's shoulder, all the while I kept asking myself the same question. Why?

"Luna..." she said as her wing stroked me like a mother would do with her child. I felt weak, alone, unloved, it didn't matter to me that my subjects loved me, I liked their love and I appreciated it, but I wanted to feel real love. The kind of which only those married can understand, is it too much to ask perhaps? Am I being too spoiled by asking for something like that when I have so much?

"Is it not enough for me to have lost him? Is it not enough for me to be alone, crying myself to sleep every single night of those lonesome one thousand years? Is it not enough that I crave for the only thing that I can't have?" I yelled into the night, many birds and animals fled from the vicinity after hearing me scream. At that moment I had lost it, I no longer retained control of myself and I allowed my emotions to run wild; if my sister hadn't been there I would've probably gone mad again.

I've always been the weak one... the feared one... the hated one.

"Luna... don't do this to yourself. You know I love you, I cried too in all of those nights I sent you away sister, now you have friends and ponies love you." said Celestia as she kept on stroking me, if anything that made me cry even harder.

"I don't want that kind of love, I want... true love, somepony with whom I can have a family... maybe have some foals. I want love sister... is that too much to ask?" I asked. to her, tears still streaming from my eyes. When I said that I saw shock fill her face, surely she must've realized by now what I meant and by now she knew whom I was thinking about.

"Luna... choosing a life partner isn't as easy as choosing a candy, there are so many things involved in it; but remember, I'll always stand by your side and I'll always want what's best for you." said Celestia as she pulled me into a hug, this was one of the few times a hug has meant so much for me. Yet even with all the support of my sister, I knew it wouldn't be enough, nothing in this world would be enough.

"I've already chosen him Tia, I chose him one thousand, three hundred and seventy three years ago." I said as I gripped her harder. I felt her tense up, she knew by now but she didn't want to admit it. I waited for some moments for her reply, but it definitely took its time.

"Luna... I... stop thinking about the past... you need to meet new stallions. I... I miss him too, he was a dear friend but he wouldn't want you to stay like this." said Celestia in a broken voice, as I looked at her I saw some tears falling from her eyes. In no way they were more than mine, but I had only seen my sister cry two times before.

When he died... and when she sent me away...

"I can't Tia, I've tried time and time again, I just can't. My heart is chained to him, I wish only to be with him and nothing more." I said to her as tears started slowly decreasing, at last I had ran out of tears to release. Now I just kept sniffing and wimpering like a small foal, what a pathetic sight... a princess crying...

"He's dead... he has been dead for over one thousand years... he was married Luna... he made his choice." said Celestia with a voice that nearly made me want to cry all over again. She was hurting just by telling me this, but it was necessary... she needed to know just how much I care for him.

I was starting to feel drowsy, crying consumes great amounts of energy in everypony. Using my last shred of strength I had left, I did a spell, a basic teleportation spell and made a rainbow colored rose appear. Tia's eyes opened up in amazement as she grabbed the flower with extreme care, I was now lying down on the ground... closing my eyes. Wishing for that I would never have.

"After all this time?" asked Celestia as she looked at me with her eyes at the brink of tears.

"Always." I said before sleeping.

* * *

"That's why I'm here Doctor, I feel as if I need to speak of this to somepony else." said Luna to the earth pony wearing a lab coat. He had recorded the conversation with Luna and was just looking at her with a mixed expression of pity and sadness, he paced around the room in silence for a bit.

"Are you alright Doctor? You look shaken." said Luna as she dried some tears from her eyes. The Doctor turned around with a fatherly smile and approached Luna.

"I'm fine your majesty... I was just thinking about some old days... your story isn't one I haven't heard before. I'll be glad to be of assistance your majesty." said the pony as he kneeled before her, Luna gave him a small smile as she whispered a thank you and walked to the door, before she exited the building she looked back and asked.

"Same time tomorrow?"

"Of course." said the pony as he began looking through some books, instead of leaving however Luna asked one final question.

"Do you promise?" The brown earth pony looked at her with a smile and said.

"You can trust me, I'm a doctor."


	2. How we first met I of II

_Author's note: Thanks for the review NocturneD! Enjoy this next chapter, feedback is appreciated! This chapter was already written so don't expect updates this fast._

"I'm here Doctor, sorry I'm late." said Luna as she quickly entered the small living room, the brown earth pony was in the middle of eating a banana in an extremely suggestive manner, causing Luna to giggle slightly.

"Oh no you didn't princess, why I thought you were better than to think something like that." said the Doctor as he ate the banana in one quick bite and quickly disposing of the shell.

"Though it's nice seeing you smile for a change, you look so much better when you do so. I presume you had a good day's rest right?" asked the Doctor as he began searching for the recorder, Luna's face was filled with a blush as she looked away from the Doctor.

"Sit down and tell me about it, afterwards we'll go on with the usual your majesty." said the Doctor as he found his recorder, he prepared the couch for the princess to lie down in it and got a chair for himself.

* * *

Before I go on with what happened yesterday, I think I might've left a few loose ends from my last story. I woke up in the morning with my sister holding me in her embrace, the sun was in the sky so I guessed she lowered the moon for me and raised the sun. At the thought I became ashamed Doctor, my feelings should in no way be an excuse to avoid my duty as a princess.

Anyway, I snuck out from her hug and began looking at the drawings on the wall with more interest. I still remember when we did them, those were darker times in which Discord ruled over the land, not only did we use to play in the cave... but we also hid from him in here. Many of our drawings represented a hope for a better Equestria, the will of ponies to overcome chaos and give way to an era of harmony and friendship.

Childish dreams that are now the foundation of our society.

Though many of the drawings were crude and foallike, there was one that was expertly made. It depicted all three of us, standing in front of the statue of the defeated Discord, half of the painting was filled with sunlight while the other half was filled with moonlight. All of us were smiling, finally being able to bring harmony back to the land, I think that was one of the happiest days of my life; as I watched I couldn't help but feel a familiar tugging sensation in my heart... one I used to feel when I was close to him.

I felt a hoof touching my shoulder, I turned around to see Celestia giving me a small smile. I tried returning one but barely managed to do so, the events of last night catching up to me. I gently removed her hoof and looked at her shamefully, thinking she would be angry due to my persistance last night. Instead of a glare or just a neutral look, she looked at me with a wide smile as she pulled me into yet another hug.

"I'm sorry for what I said Luna... I had no right to tell you who to love... can you forgive me?" asked Celestia as I felt a tear making contact with me, I made my sister cry? Why was she apologizing? She just said what needed to be said, I'm no longer a little filly and I shouldn't be pursuing dreams that I know I will never achieve.

"I can't... you have nothing to apologize for. You're right Tia, no matter how I look at it, I'm just trying to live an impossible dream." I said as I began stroking her with my hoof, She quickly pulled apart and looked at me in the eyes with an expression that radiated extreme determination.

"Luna, even if you love a dead pony. I'll always support you and you shouldn't change your way of thinking just to please me." said Celestia. Now I have known my sister for a long time and I knew that she was really serious about this, was she telling me that I need to follow my dreams? Even if they're completely illogical and impossible?

"We're a family Luna, and even if you never find your special somepony... I'll always be here for you." said Celestia as I felt more tears fall on me, this time they came from me.

He said those exact same words before he died, if I had known that I would never see him again.I would've told him; I didn't care if his wife would've killed me, I would've told him how I felt.

"I'll always be here for you my moonlight."

* * *

"Would you like to stop Luna, err I mean your majesty.?" asked the Doctor as he handed her a tissue, she had already begun to cry and the Doctor was very unsure as to what to do.

"N-no... I need to tell you, I can't keep this to myself any longer, and please... call me Luna." said Luna in a broken voice as she dried her tears with the tissue. After a small amount of time she had finished drying her tears, the Doctor was waiting patiently for her to finish crying. Then slowly but surely, she kept on speaking.

* * *

Afterwards we just went back to the castle and acted as if nothing had ever happened. I told the elements I had very important matters to speak with Celestia and that I was sorry for missing out on the celebration. It wasn't a lie, it was just an incomplete truth.

It's not something I like, but it's better than telling them the truth. There's no sense having them worry so much over me about something that can't be changed.

Of course I didn't feel fully satisfied, I still kept the flower he gave me so many years ago, I still cried in the nights I spent alone. Even with all the precautions I took, Celestia took notice of my condition, and she didn't like it one single bit. To tell you the truth Doctor, I entered a deep depression, terrible thoughts began to plague my mind. Thoughts of joining my love on the other side... ending my immortality and leaving everything behind...

I have a weak will, and I know it. I would've never gone through with it and I will probably never do it.

I still think there's some other way, I still believe we will get our happy ending.

Now on to yesterday, I arrived at home after telling you the story. To tell you the truth I was feeling much lighter and for the first time in the last three months, I felt as if I was released from something holding me back. However, I wasn't able to foresee what was waiting for me at the castle, I had arrived close to midnight so I suspected that Celestia would be sleeping already. I quietly entered my sleeping quarters in hope of getting a quick nap before having to lower the moon again when Celestia turned on the light and gave me a really grave look.

"You're late." she said as she began slowly walking towards me. I didn't cower and instead stood in front of her head on, it isn't as if I did something wrong, coming to visit you. When she was just one step away from me she finally asked where I was, I opened my mouth to answer her but instead of hearing words coming out of my mouth I heard laughter. It was an outburst... something that happened completely on instinct and I felt terribly embarrassed for doing it.

"I don't see what's so funny Luna." said Celestia with a forced frown, or at least it seemed very forced to me since the corners of her mouth were rising. I tried to calm down and succeeded to some extent. I told her the truth, I told her that I went to Ponyville to clear my mind about the events three months ago, of course I couldn't tell her about you yet or else she might get the wrong idea and insist on calling you on some royal business and then she would simply ask you if you're my coltfriend.

That wouldn't be a pretty sight for either of us, still she pressured me to know if I had moved on and decided to get somepony else for a change. She kept on all day while I was trying to sleep, I did my best to ignore her and I succeeded to some extent. The only bad thing is that I didn't sleep so well and some of the things she said were rather... um... personal?

* * *

"And that's why I didn't have such a good day's sleep." said Luna as her cheeks were filled with a blush. The Doctor couldn't help but smile at the last comment she made.

"That wouldn't be a pretty sight for any of us, I'm not the kind of pony that likes to deal with a royal summoning. Much less a very curious ruler that thinks of me in that way." said the Doctor as he stroked his chin with his hoof.

"Why? Do you fear my sister and I?" asked Luna with newfound curiosity. The Doctor began smiling as he was in the middle of a great memory, for a moment he spaced out and just looked at the wall as he smiled.

"The last time I dealt with royalty, I might've gotten myself just the tiniest bit exiled." said the Doctor as he smiled sheepishly, Luna's eyes opened wide with interest. Besides the fact that he was a doctor she didn't know anything else about this rather peculiar pony.

"That's a story for another day Luna, we're here to listen to you." said the Doctor as he grabbed a muffin he had nearby and began to eat it hungrily. Luna was still curious about his exile but decided that pressing him further now would do no good. Besides, she still wanted to speak with him about their first meeting.

"You're right Doctor, I'll tell you how I met him." said Luna to the Doctor.

* * *

As I told you before Doctor, I met him exactly one thousand three hundred and seventy three years ago, at the time Equestria wasn't the land you live in right now. It doesn't even compare to the small utopia of chaos Discord created in a day, it was the same but yet at the same time so much worse than you could imagine.

Everypony was discorded, that was a general rule passed on by Discord himself. I think that was the only rule that buffoon ever made and the only one he tried to follow to the bone.

There was nearly no water in the land, even though he constantly gave us chocolate rain to restore our energy... it could only do so much to restore our thirst. The same went for the cotton candy clouds, we were trapped in a permanent state of perpetual hunger and thirst. But we remained alive... I think it was mainly due to Discord's magic.

The world of course was plunged in madness, ponies walked backwards and entered their homes through the roof instead of using the door. The land was filled with hate, one minute it was daytime and the next one it was nighttime. Ponies were sad, they had lost hope for a better future and had resigned to simply surviving in that pathetic excuse for a life.

My sister and I had been abandoned by our discorded parents, usually little ponies had to wait until the age of 7 to be discorded. According to the god of chaos, it was an age in which all ponies had enough memories to remember how they used to be.

Being abandoned was a common sight in Equestria, families were a thing of the past... and so was friendship, for the majority of the ponies at least.

Celestia wasn't only my older sister, she was my best friend, she was my teacher, she was my mother, she was my everything. She was my day and my night, the last shred of sanity that remained in my world. In the days in which I couldn't find food she would give up hers, the days in which the water was almost gone she would fly until she found a pond and then she would return for me, take me there and wait until I was completely full before drinking herself.

She went through so much for me... and all I did to pay her back was... betrayal. How could she do it? After giving her entire being, her life to a single pony, and then getting stabbed in the back like that. How could she keep on living? I still can't live with myself for commiting such a stupid act! I betrayed the trust and love of the one pony who loved me above anything else, even more than her own life... I took everything she gave to me and broke it in front of her eyes!

* * *

"Luna!" yelled the Doctor as she grabbed the princess; she had started to yell obscenities in the air about her. The Doctor held her in place, preventing her from trying to do anything stupid.

"I hurt her! I hurt her! I hurt her!" yelled Luna between sobs as she tried to break free from the Doctor, for being such a small pony she had to admit that he was strong and didn't waver his grip once.

"Luna! Don't do this to yourself, ponies make mistakes all the time! Those mistakes make us who we are... they teach us about life and how to live it! Stop punishing yourself like this!" said the Doctor as he kept her pinned to the couch. It took a long time, much longer than last time but she managed to calm down again. She was now sobbing softly, the Doctor finally got off her and sat back down in the couch, an expression of sadness etched in his face.

"I'm sorry... sorry..." said Luna between sobs as she looked at the Doctor's face.

"Keep on going." said the Doctor with no emotion on his voice. "Try to tell it in one piece."

* * *

"Where's the fun in not knowing how you used to be?" is what Discord told me when I questioned him about discording ponies at such a young age.

We were on the run, only 3 days remained until Celestia was old enough to be discorded. My sister and I had decided we would escape from this fate. Being alicorns made it close to impossible to keep ourselves hidden, we stood out like evil would on Equestria. Nearly every discorded pony was linked to Discord and only they had food and slight amounts of water; we were constantly forced to reveal ourselves though he still wasn't on the lookout for us.

When the day arrived, it was a completely different story.

"Hurry Luna! They're nearly on us!" said Celestia as we flew swiftly above the lone plains that would later become Ponyville, we had been flying for what seemed like hours and the elite pegasi squadron was still hot on our trail. They were the best fliers ever to set a hoof on Equestria, a simple five pony formation for effectivness. They were relentless and never allowed anypony to escape them, not even their families. Even though we were young and therefore they should've caught us hours ago, we could use magic while in the air and that gave us the greatest advantage anypony could ask.

Even with all of that, they proved to be a tough obstacle to overcome, they received energy from Discord himself and he never tired. My sister and I on the other hand, we did get tired due to our tender age and lack of training on the magic and flying department.

"I'm flying as fast as I can sister! I... I don't think I'll make it!" I said to her, being smaller than her meant that I had to fly like a pony 3 years older than me with close to no training, considering the circumstances I was doing pretty good. Celestia started looking around the plains desperately for a place to lose them, she managed to spy a small forest below us. What was weird about it was its normality, it was just a regular old forest... a bit creepy looking from above I will admit but it was normal.

"Follow me Luna, I have a plan." said Celestia as she flew at the forest at an alarming speed, I followed behind her at the same pace. My heart was beating like mad at that moment, my mind had reached its limit... out of the corner of my eye I saw two pegasi surround me by my sides, looking at me with those grey lifeless eyes. Devoid of love or any other positive emotion for that matter.

"End of the road princess." said one of the pegasus in Discord's voice, he raised his hoof and was ready to bring it down upon me when several things happened at the same time.

First of all, the two pegasus crashed into the trees. They had been so distracted with me that they failed to see what was in front of them.

Second of all, I crashed into the ground... hard. As I made contact with the ground I felt as many bones in my body broke simultaneously and I think one of my wings broke too. The amount of pain overwhelmed my senses and left me numb on the ground, unable to move the slightest part of my body with the exception of my eyes. To be honest I can't remember Doctor, but I'm sure I also broke both of my wings, The thing I was facing happened to be a small hut with smoke coming out of it. I saw my sister knocking the door desperately, begging for anypony to open the door.

While she was doing that, I had lost the sense of touch in nearly all of my body. All I felt was my head throbbing in pain... in those moments I only wanted the pain to go away... I was starting to feel sleepy Doctor, that was one of the moments in which I stared at death in the eye.

And believe me Doctor, being so young and so close to death changes the way you think about life. I think that's the reason I've been unable to take away my life Doctor; I'm glad I have it.

This part is what Celestia remembers, after knocking quickly a seemingly discorded colt opened the door. At first she was scared and was prepared to fight till the death in order to protect me, but upon closer inspection she saw that his mane still retained color.

"Please... help us." said Celestia with tears in her eyes, she told me that the colt looked over her and saw me in the ground. Even now I still don't have the courage to ask her just how terrible was my condition, she told me that the squadron was circling the forest and that the two members had already recovered by the time in which he reached me.

As I was closing my eyes I managed to get one last look at our saviour, from afar he seemed just like any other discorded pony; grey and devoid of color, but when he approached I saw that his mane and tail did have a color, green and blue. I smiled goofily at him and whispered in what my sister would say was "An angelic voice."

"Pretty... colors..."

I passed out seconds later, in the middle of what is now known as the Everfree Forest.

_Author's 2nd note: There will be more conversation outside the story in the next chapter, meaning the Doctor will finally be able to give her some advice._


	3. How we first met II of II

_Author's note: Thank you bldvenom and trigrbrony777 for their reviews, this is the last "fast" chapter uploaded since at the time this was posted it was halfway done._

During my sleep I couldn't see anything, I didn't dream at all, I was trapped in a black void of nothingness. I cried out for my sister whilst in the void, but it seemed as if the void swallowed my voice and didn't let it reach her.

For any four year old, the concept of death is nearly unknown; for me it was an eternal fear because with death came loneliness. I started crying and yelling for my sister, of course there wasn't an answer. I tried flying but I was unable to feel my wings, I tried to use magic in order to summon a light but that failed too, in a last desperate attempt at freedom I began running into the void; Not actually seeing where I was going and unable to hear even my own hoofsteps.

I kept running, never once my hope flickered. I don't know if you know Doctor, but small foals are always the last ones to lose hope when faced by a danger. I kept pressing forward, never once slowing my pace, I was getting tired of course and there were times in which I just wanted to lie down and sleep.

But there was something that pushed me onward, after some time I saw that a ray light was starting to leak into the void. My dark surroundings were starting to become more visible and I finally saw where I was running, I changed my course to head towards the source of the light. My strenght was starting to fail me, but my will at that moment kept me running to the light.

There was a point, in which I noticed that there was somepony in the light, at first I thought it was my sister, coming to save me. As I approached however, I saw that it was the pony who ran towards me before sleeping in the clearing,

"Hello!" said the pony as he waved in my direction. Without thinking even for a second I ran at him, each step cleared the darkness even more. The fear I had in me was washed away and I felt a tugging sensation in my heart that would last even until now, as I arrived in front of him I saw his eyes darting around nervously, as if he wanted to avoid eye contact.

"Hello..." I said in a low voice, I hadn't spoke with any other pony besides my sister in my life so this first "meeting" was kind of weird, I wasn't exactly known for having social skills you know, He chuckled at the sound of my voice as he looked at me with those blue eyes, filled with a promise of safety and comfort.

"Come on my little pony, it's time to wake up." said the pony as he extended his hoof towards me, a light iluminating everything behind him. I didn't hesitate and grabbed his hoof as I felt my eyes nearly burning due to the light.

I don't remember what happened after that, but I do remember waking up in a makeshift bed in a small, yet cozy room. My first reaction was to try and move, much to my amazement I managed to do so without any pain. I looked around the room to see that nopony was in there except me, my first thought was that this was Discord's prison and soon he would jump out and yell surprise.

That thought changed when I saw the open door; cautiously, i exited the room and found myself in a mixture of a living room and a kitchen. I saw a cauldron at the middle of the room boiling with a green liquid so I naturally thought, that Celestia and I had been foalnapped by a witch. Now that I think back, it was kind of a good deduction since he had all those herbs categorized using symbols instead of our normal alphabet.

It didn't help that I didn't know how to read.

I was about to get to the door when I heard some rustling coming from a door inside the house, If at the time I had any amount of common sense, I would've used it and I would've gotten out of there, but I was young and curious so I decided to investigate the noise. I quietly crept to a wooden door cleverly covered by some placed vines. Behind it I found a series of stairs leading down to a basement, it was actually quite illuminated and thus made it easy for me to make my way to the bottom.

I didn't know what to expect, but being young leaves you with an active imagination and thus I thought it was a dungeon in which the witch kept the foals until they were ripe enough to eat. As I looked around the room I saw that my suspicions were proven completely wrong, it was a garden. Now that I think back I have no idea how he even kept it hidden; the place was just so big, and so very beautiful.

It was completely illuminated, there were 6 trees in the garden, each one had its particular fruit growing in it. While I was watching the fruits I heard my stomach growl, It was very embarrasing to say the least and to add insult to injury, the rustling stopped for a while. I stood still, thinking that if I didn't move a muscle I would turn invisible or something of the sort.

"Are you hungry?" asked the familiar voice. I turned around to see him behind me, he was about my size give or take a few centimeters. As I already said before, he was grey and appeared to be discorded, but his mane was half green, half blue; so was his tail. He also had some freckles in his nose, kind of cute if you asked me.

He was holding an apple in his hoof and he was gesturing for me to take it, I was relucant about taking it because my sister taught me never to accept anything from strangers, the only reason I took it was that my stomach growled again, making me blush intensely. I ate the apple quickly while he looked at me with curiosity, the fruit was gone in a matter of seconds and I looked at him with a begging expression.

"Grab anything you like." said the pony as he gestured towards the trees. I quickly ran towards them and started grabbing the fruits from the trees, I ate the fruits in a very un-princesslike manner. Now that I look back, it was a miracle I didn't get a stomach ache or any stomach sickness for that matter. To describe you the taste of the fruits would be impossible, they ranged from sweet to sour and to both of them together.

They were perfect, for me they were at least.

Several fruits later I felt completely full, the colt looked at me with a smile as he sat in front of me. I began looking to my sides in hope of finding Celestia in here too, at the time I only wanted her to eat some of these fruits.

"Your sister is fine, she's outside with the animals." said the colt as she noticed me searching for something, I smiled at him before slowly building up the courage to speak to him.

"Thank you for the fruits, they were yummy." I said to the colt. He gave me a nervous smile as he laughed slightly, it was then that I noticed that he was similar to me in the aspect that he was an alicorn.

"Can you tell me your name?" I asked to the pony as I kept eyeing him in a completely indescrete manner. At that age I didn't have even the smallest amount of malice in me so looking at him all over didn't seem like a bad thing for me.

"Everfree, my name is Everfree and I live here with the animals." he said as he stood up on his hind legs and grabbed a berry from the bush.

"That's a nice name, I'm Luna." I said to him as I brushed a flock of hair off one of my eyes.

"You got hurt very badly outside princess, you're lucky your sister found me when she did." said Everfree as he began eating the berry, still seated ever so calmly.

"Princess?" I asked him in confusion. No one had ever called me a princess before, I didn't have any "royal" blood nor did I grow up in a fancy castle. The answer that he gave me pretty much chained my heart up, there were other moments in which his hold just got stronger but that was the moment in which he snuck his way right into my heart.

"Well, all the pretty fillies are princesses right?" asked Everfree naively, I looked at him in confusion, still unable to understand what he meant with that.

"But princesses live in a castle, and they have a prince to save them. Are you a prince?" I asked him naively.

Now that I think of it, I think we were hitting on each other when we just met. I look at what we said then and I can't help but feel embarrassed. Still, it was a happy memory and it never fails to bring a smile to my face.

"I don't think so, but you can live here if you want to." said Everfree as he was playing with a single blade of grass,

"I can?" I asked him in a surprised tone, at the time it was my dream to live in a place where things would stay still for a while. A place where nopony shouted mean things at you, in short words, a place like the Everfree Forest. Before I could answer his question, I heard hoofsteps coming in our direction and I saw my sister walking towards us ever so calmly. Out of instinct I ran at her and hugged her, someponies when they grow up bottle up their feelings; but foals don't care how other ponies react. They just show them, kind of strange isn't it? We actually become dumber when we grow up.

"I'm glad you're awake sister, did Everfree tell you about living here?" asked Celestia, I looked up at her and nodded.

"So do you want to stay?" asked Celestia, she could have all she ever wanted in here and yet she still asks for my opinion on this. Of course when I was little I payed little to no attention to those details, I immediately nodded my head at her. One of these days, I swear in front of you Doctor, I'll do something big to pay her back.

"This can be your castle!" said Everfree with happiness as he walked towards us. "You two can be the princesses and I'll be the prince, just like in the stories."

"We're not princesses." said Celestia as she looked at the ground in shame.

"But the books say all pretty fillies are princesses, you have to be princesses." said Everfree as a small amount of sadness started to creep into his face, he would later tell me why that was the case but for now all you need to know is that the both of us accepted relucantly to be called princesses.

That marked the beggining of our friendship, that's how we met.

* * *

As Luna finished, silence reigned over the living room. The Doctor was tapping what appeared to be a wooden copy of the Sonic Screwdriver against the edge of his chair. Each second felt heavier than the previous one as he looked with those inexpressive eyes directly at Luna.

"Luna... I need to tell you something important." said the Doctor in a serious tone of voice. Luna looked at him like a small filly would look at his parents before a scolding

_"This is it, he'll tell me I lost it, he'll tell me I'm weak."_ thought Luna with fear. _"But if it truly is my fate, then so be it."_

"I know many ponies say this to others... but I want you to know that I truly know how you feel Luna. Don't think you're alone, because you have a great group of friends to back you up. You have a sister that loves you more than anything and I'm sure you love her too Luna. Don't think less of you for your mistakes, think more because you had a chance to live them and learn from them." said the Doctor as he grabbed her hoof and looked at her eyes,

"H-h-h-how..." began saying Luna but the Doctor hushed her and kept on speaking.

"Luna, please stop calling yourself weak and puny... if anything you're a strong pony, of that I'm sure." said the Doctor as he smiled slightly.

"Y-y-you don't even know me." said Luna as she looked away shamefully. The Doctor chuckled slightly, earning a weird look from Luna.

"Then I suggest we change it, how does tea and muffins at 8pm sound?" said the Doctor with a sly smirk, Luna didn't process what the Doctor had offered her and quickly nodded. The Doctor smiled and pressed the stop button on the recorder, he stood up and walked towards a desk in the corner of the room. Once in there he deposited the tape on top of the desk, his gaze was caught by a picture on the desk. It depicted him and a person he once held and still holds very dear, he smiled slightly at the thought of the person.

_"I hope you're happy."_ Thought the Doctor as he looked at one of the last remaining links to his old life. A picture of him... and his rose, he had no idea who or what brought it here but he just accepted it and treasured the picture of what could never be.

"Anyway Luna, I think morning should come any minute; Luna?" asked the Doctor as he faced Luna sleeping blissfully in his couch. He gave a quick chuckle and walked towards a small closet in the far side of the living room, he opened the door and withdrew a blanket from it. He covered Luna with it and was about to go to his room when he thought about reading a book,

_"Why a book? Well it's not like I can read a wall, though it might be interesting to try."_ thought the Doctor as he thought about it. There was a particular book he had in mind, one that he got from the library here in Ponyville but he felt really tired each night to read it.

_"Perhaps one book wouldn't harm me, after all I need to keep my cultural knowledge fresh."_ thought the Doctor as he retraced his steps back to the living room. Once inside he grabbed a big red hard cover book encrusted with the royal emblem from the bookcase, he made a mental note to thank the librarian Miss Sparkle for lending him the books.

_"An Equestrian Guide to the Common and Strange. Uncensored edition."_

_End note: Planning stories is cool, any thoughts on this chapter folks?_


End file.
